Juan Alvarez Mendizabal

Juan Alvarez Mendizabal (25 February 1790-3 November 1853) was Prime Minister of Spain from 25 September 1835 to 15 May 1836, succeeding Jose Maria Queipo de Llano and preceding Francisco Javier de Isturiz. He was a member of the Progressive Party of Spain.

Biography
Juan Alvarez Mendizabal was born in Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain in 1790, and he worked as a banker and then in the military administration during the Peninsular War. In 1820, he was appointed military supplier of the troops that King Fernando VII of Spain had sent to Latin America to crush the revolts, and he used his position to finance Rafael del Riego's military uprising. Although he had participated in the revolts against absolutism, he renounced the Trienio Liberal. He went into exile in the United Kingdom following King Fernando's restoration of absolutism, opening a trade business. In 1833, he served as Treasury Minister under Jose Maria Queipo de Llano, and he succeeded Queipo de Llano as Prime Minister in 1835. He redistributed land to big business tycoons, but he was forced to resign in 1836 due to his inability to crush the Carlist revolt. A few months later, he became Finance Minister, and he oversaw the abolition of tithe, freedom of the press, and confiscation of the Catholic Church's properties. In 1843, he was again appointed Finance Minister, but had to go into exile when the Moderate Party of Spain returned to power. From his return to Spain in 1847 until his death in 1853, he served in the Cortes.